"You've stepped onto the Path of the Asura by your own will? Even cast aside Muga no Kyōchi completely… Looks like you've resolved yourself, Sanada." Akashi responded calmly.
Sanada's expression was unusually stern. He said nothing more. His focus, spirit, and energy had peaked. Turning on his heel, he walked straight to the baseline, ready to start the fifth game.
He pulled out a tennis ball. The silver glow around him brightened, and the surrounding Black Aura surged dramatically. The contrast yet harmony of the two created a strange illusion. He tossed the ball high and swung his racket with all his strength. The ball turned into a fierce hurricane, blasting toward Akashi's side.
"Swift as a storm!"
"The ball's speed really has increased a bit. But if you think that's enough to score, you're being arrogant, Sanada." A chill flickered in Akashi's eyes. He instantly shifted to the right side of the court and whipped his arm through the air.
Bang! Thwack!
The ball's landing and the return strike happened almost simultaneously. The hurricane-like ball instantly revealed itself and reversed at high speed toward Sanada's half.
Electric arcs sparked off Sanada's body. In the blink of an eye, he appeared along the ball's path. Lightning coated his racket as he slammed it hard into the ball, which transformed into a massive bolt of lightning and roared back at Akashi.
"Move like thunder!"
As the lightning crossed the net, Sanada gave a quick flick of his wrist. Due to the hidden backswing, most couldn't detect the action, but Akashi's Emperor Eye saw through it instantly.
Ignoring the lightning heading to the right side, Akashi jumped to the left side and leapt high, preparing to counter.
Then, in midair, the lightning-like ball sharply bent ninety degrees, curving left in a bizarre arc. As it approached Akashi, it bent again, shooting straight up.
Just as Akashi was about to swing down for a smash, the ball veered again—this time straight down—slamming hard just inside the baseline before flying out of bounds.
"Black Dragon Triple Strike!"
"15-0!"
As Sanada scored the point, he let out a long breath. Even with his five attributes enhanced under the Path of the Asura—especially his willpower and mental strength—executing Black Dragon Triple Strike wasn't easy.
"You used the lightning flash from Move like Thunder to hide the ball's path and masked your swing count with a hidden backswing... So it was all to counter my Emperor Eye. Seems you've grown stronger, Sanada. In that case, I won't hold back anymore. Prepare to lose." Akashi's voice remained cold despite the lost point.
"There's not a single weak spot in me now! You're the one falling into the abyss of defeat, Akashi Seijurō!" Sanada roared, pointing his racket at Akashi, aura surging.
"Let's go, Vice Captain! Teach Akashi-senpai a lesson!" Kirihara shouted from the bench, full of spirit.
"Seems his mental discipline still needs some work. Just based on that one outburst, there's a 99% chance Kirihara's going to suffer later," Yanagi Renji said quietly, glancing sympathetically at the loudly cheering Kirihara.
"If he actually learned his lesson, he wouldn't be Kirihara. Puhihi~ Time for us to warm up too, Renji," Niō chuckled, giving Kirihara a strange smile before standing up with Renji to start stretching.
Over on Fudomine's bench, Tachibana Kippei's golden hair fluttered in the wind. With a playful tone, he said, "Sanada really dares to say it. He must be feeling pretty confident right now."
"He's only just stepped into the Path of the Asura. Still far from Akashi's level," Krauser said coldly from beside him.
"Heh~ courting death," Kite added bluntly. Still, deep down, he began wondering whether he too should abandon Muga no Kyōchi entirely and devote himself to pushing further down the Path of the Asura.
Meanwhile, Akashi's gaze grew even sharper and colder upon hearing Sanada's declaration. Waves of invisible mental force radiated from his eyes, crashing toward Sanada.
"Mental Pressure!"
Luckily, Sanada's enhanced spiritual strength under the Path of the Asura absorbed most of the impact. Though he couldn't fully resist Akashi's Mental Pressure, it was far better than before. With the support of his Black Aura, the Emperor Eye image in his mind flickered only for a moment. His actions weren't hindered much—just a drop of about 0.4 to 0.5 across all five attributes.
This actually made Sanada's confidence rise again. Without another word, he tossed the tennis ball into the air. The power of the Path of the Asura surged into his racket as he launched another high-quality Swift as a Storm serve—this one even faster than the last.
But now that Akashi was serious, such a serve was useless. With a flash, Akashi moved and returned the ball cleanly with a sharp angle.
As the ball flew toward him, a towering mountain peak appeared behind Sanada, covering nearly half the court. The ball struck the mountain, and its power and spin momentarily stalled.
"Immovable as a Mountain!"
Grasping the split-second delay, Sanada dashed to the front court. Mid-run, he spun seven hundred and twenty degrees, and his racket erupted in blazing flames as he smashed downward. The ball turned into a pillar of fire and blasted toward the opposite court like a natural disaster.
"Fierce as a blazing flame!"
The crowd exploded with thunderous cheers. This was, without a doubt, the most visually overwhelming match of the national middle school tournament. Even the bizarre Singles 3 final two years ago didn't have this kind of spectacle.
Akashi showed no surprise at the towering inferno. Although Sanada had only just stepped into the Path of the Asura, it had clearly boosted the power of his ultimate technique.
A trace of otherworldly energy spread from Akashi's body. Over on the Rikkai bench, Yukimura's brows furrowed slightly. The next second, Akashi swung into the fire pillar. As the ball met his racket, both the flames and the tennis ball vanished completely from sight.
Then, a spatial rift opened before Akashi. From within, a massive holy sword radiating heroic glory shot out, thrusting straight at the vigilant Sanada on the opposite side.
"Gate of Babylon! Dawn of Ruin!"
The moment the holy sword pierced Sanada, the entire half-court was engulfed in dazzling light. No one could see Sanada's figure clearly. Only after the brilliance faded did the crowd see Sanada kneeling on one knee, gasping for breath. The ground behind him was scorched black.
"15... 15-15!" Even the umpire hesitated while calling the score.
"You didn't really think mastering the Path of the Asura was enough to contend with me… did you, Sanada?" Akashi's icy voice pierced into Sanada's ears.
"Damn it… I still can't block that dimensional power?" A trace of urgency laced Sanada's voice.
But the umpire had already called for the next serve. Sanada stood up and walked back to the baseline. His face darkened again, but the fighting spirit in his eyes barely faded.
This time, Sanada didn't use Swift as a Storm. Instead, he hit a regular Fast as Wind serve. Still, he used the invisible backswing technique to blur the motion of his arm, hoping Akashi wouldn't see how many times he had swung.
The ball landed just over the net and bounced. Then, in mid-air, it suddenly bent toward the right center line. Akashi didn't react. The next moment, the ball veered again, shooting skyward. After reaching a certain height, it sharply bent again, heading down toward the left side.
"Black Dragon Triple Strike!"
But this shot was destined to disappoint Sanada. Even though he used the invisible backswing, it still couldn't escape Akashi's flawless Emperor Eye. Akashi had seen through everything. For him, Sanada's move was completely countered.
Standing still, Akashi casually swung his racket. The ball was intercepted precisely and then slowly disappeared from everyone's view. Seeing this, a flicker of wariness crossed Sanada's eyes, and he instantly became fully alert.
A familiar spatial rift appeared again. This time, an incredibly magnificent and radiant sword shot out. Its blade glinted with sharp, cold light as it flew straight toward Sanada's side.
"Gate of Babylon! Durandal!"
Sanada didn't back down at all. With a roar, he charged at the holy sword. The Black Aura around him surged like a massive abyssal mouth trying to swallow the blade. But the result didn't change. His aura was sliced cleanly in half, as if by a blade, and a long crack split the ground behind him.
"15-30!"
"I already told you. Your defeat was decided long ago, Sanada." Akashi looked at him, expression calm, voice cold.